


A Stop at Nancy's Diner

by DesertVixen



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: F/M, Trick or Treat: Trick, urban legend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Mary Anne and Charlie visit a very special diner...
Relationships: Mary Anne Spier/Charlie Thomas
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	A Stop at Nancy's Diner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rina (rinadoll)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinadoll/gifts).



It had been raining for hours, Mary Anne Spier thought, and it seemed like they were getting no closer to her grandparents’ house. In the driver’s seat of their rental car, Charlie Thomas was concentrating on the road.

“I wish it would let up,” he muttered. 

“Maybe we should pull over and wait it out?” 

He glanced over at her and smiled, for just a minute. “If you see a place, let me know.” Just then, lightning flashed and Charlie’s stomach growled. They hadn’t stopped to eat, not expecting the drive to take quite so long. But the rain had started coming down as soon as they cleared the city limits. Two traffic jams and three accidents on the side of the road later, here they were on this two-lane highway.

She nodded.

Ten minutes later, the highway sign indicated there was a diner off the next exit. Charlie took the turnoff, and a mile off the highway, they found themselves pulling into the parking lot of Nancy’s Diner. It was the only building there, nestled into a clearing of trees, although there had been a gas station closer to the exit. 

But despite its lonely location, lights blazed out into the stormy November night. It was like the answer to a weary traveler's prayer.

They made a dash for the door – Charlie holding his jacket over Mary Anne’s head since he thought an umbrella would just get blown away in the fierce wind – and were happy to close the door behind them. There were no other customers, just a pleasant older woman with gray hair and an old-fashioned dress covered with a blue-flowered apron. There was an incredibly good smell inside, like rich warm chicken soup.

“Evening,” she greeted them warmly, pointing to a booth. “Awful storm out there.”

They sat, draping Charlie’s jacket over a chair. The older lady – Nancy herself, they found out – handed them menus. Mary Anne glanced at hers, stopping when she came to “chicken and dumplings”. 

“Is that what smells so good?” She asked, and Nancy smiled warmly.

“They’re just right for a stormy night like this,” the older woman agreed.

Charlie opted for a turkey club sandwich and fries, but Mary Anne decided to go for the chicken and dumplings. 

When Nancy came out of the kitchen with their trays, Charlie gave her a grin. “Are you here all by yourself?”

“Let my staff go home, but I live over the restaurant. This kitchen’s a pleasant place to be on a stormy night.” 

Charlie finished chewing the huge bite of sandwich. “I’m sure glad you were here. This definitely hits the spot.”

Mary Anne sampled the dumplings, light and fluffy as clouds. They were even better than the ones her grandmother made.

“What brings you two out this way on such a night?”

“Oh, we’re driving to Maynard to visit my grandmother,” Mary Anne replied. “We flew into Des Moines, but the rain has really slowed us down.”

“Well, the good news is, you’ve only got another hour or so to go,” Nancy said cheerfully. She sat and talked with them, her hands busy with some knitting - a cheerful afghan, Mary Anne thought.

By the time they were finished eating, the rain had let up. They paid the bill and were on their way, with Nancy waving at them from the doorway. “Have a safe drive!” 

*** 

They spent a delightful four days with Mary Anne’s grandparents, although Charlie joked that he’d gained ten pounds from Verna’s cooking. They left with plenty of time to make the airport – and to stop at Nancy’s Diner again. This time, the sun was shining, and the drive was much quicker. It was a good thing that Mary Anne remembered the exit number, because the restaurant wasn’t listed on this sign. They passed the gas station as before, but there was no diner. They drove past and looped around, then stopped.

There was no diner - instead, there was a burned out shell of a building. It clearly wasn’t a recent event, given the way wildflowers were growing in the ruin, black-eyed Susans and asters running riot. 

“This is impossible,” Mary Anne said softly. “We didn’t dream Nancy or the diner.” 

“Maybe this is the wrong exit,” Charlie said, but he didn’t sound convinced.

They stopped at the gas station to grab a drink. Charlie was pulling out his wallet when Mary Anne spoke up. “Wasn’t there a diner at this exit? I thought I remembered one.”

The clerk, a bored middle-aged woman, shook her head. “Not for seven years, there hasn’t been. Nancy Morgan used to run one, but it caught fire during a storm. Burned right to the ground, before the fire department could get there.”

“How horrible!” Mary Anne said, shivering. Thinking about fires always made her nervous. “What about Nancy?”

“She died,” the clerk said, sadly. “Fire chief said as how she’d been dead before the blaze started, natural causes. It’s a shame – she used to make the most incredible chicken and dumplings you ever ate.”

They were almost to the door when the clerk spoke up, “Strange you should ask. Seven years ago last week it was. Real shame.”

Outside in the sunshine, they looked at each other for a long moment. 

Charlie broke the silence. “Let’s get back on the road.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! This is one of my very favorite ghost stories, and I think it fits perfectly with your prompts!


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